Growing up dyspraxic is hard. And the hardest part is standing out as an awkward, physically inept child, standing in line as the last to be picked for the football or netball team. And, should you be given the chance to participate, one fumble or false move can let the side down with all the social consequences that can entail.

 Schoolboy pecking orders tend to be established on the basis of prowess in ball games and ineptitude is punished by ridicule from one's peers, bafflement or worse from the PE teacher and a sense of shame and inadequacy in oneself.  While primary school may start off  focussing on thindividual child, this emphasis  tends to shift towards the majority  by secondary .

In his book Dyspraxia (Continuum, 2007) Geoff Brookes describes how, for dyspraxics at school, "..PE lessons can hang over them like a black cloud – a constant and public reminder of their inabilities. They won’t be indifferent to P.E. they will hate it. They will avoid it ant cost, truanting from school if that is the only way to escape the humiliation. Dealing with the impatience of others in team situations will haunt them throughout the week. Their differences will be accentuated and their feelings of inadequacy reinforced by the hurtful comments of their peers".

Having dyspraxia often results in us not always achieving what we should do academically – from school to postgraduate course. Concentration problems and an inability to grasp certain concepts can detract from the plus points of our imaginative abilities and powers of determination.

Ideally dyspraxic students should be offered tuition in a one-to-one format from a specialised support tutor and receive help (perhaps a "scribing buddy") with the originsation of the written work they intend to keep as notes & to present as assignments & essays. Roy's personal experience: I should hope that things have moved on since the occasion when, returning to Strathclyde University after my father's death in December 1982, I asked the librarianshio lecturer for an extension on an essay & she refused. I reiterated that my father had just died & she responded by asking me, "How do we know other students aren't in the same position?" I replied that I thought that if they were, they would have told her.

In an ideal educational world, students with dyspraxia should also be able to take advantage of extra time to complete exams, pastel-coloured rather than plain white exam paper, the use of computers & have a seperate room provided for their sitting of the exam.

As it can be hard to concentrate on your own when studying, unless in “hyper-focusing mode”, revision with friends is recommended. Verbalising can be a considerable help. Rather than your eyes glazing over when faced with a past paper you can make the topic come alive in three dimensions.

Adult Dyspraxia Scotland would love to hear from anyone with a strategy to share for overcoming obstacles in an academic or learning environment. Organising a timetable is generally a good idea for all dyspraxics, not just those of us who’re studying. It can, of course, be hard to keep to – as can any effort not to try to learn too much too quickly. It may not come naturally to those of us with dyspraxia, but prioritising notes helps the studying process. If you’re fortunate enough to have a laptop & are allowed to use it in lectures or the library that can certainly help. “Cut and paste”, bar a few initial disasters,  is an excellent tool for organising the dyspraxic mind and planning essays. There may seem to be more distracting electronic chatter around in the 21st century, but generally conditions are much improved for the dyspraxic student. Cutting & pasting, spellchecking and other boons to organisation – and the avoidance of handwriting - weren’t widely available for those of us who graduated prior to the late 1980s, perhaps with degrees that we didn’t feel quite matched our abilities.

Proof-reading our essays is another potential stumbling block. A lot of us find we are excellent proof-readers of other people’s work but have a “blind-spot” when it comes to our own. Again, spell-checking can help, as can swapping essays with a friend. Some dyspraxics find for visual assistance that puting a transparent, grey plastic sheet - such as an A4 pocket - over the text they're attempting to study can help concentration on the words they want to absorb as it takes the glare off the paper.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority has special assessment arrangements to ensure fair opportunities for candidates who can achieve the national standards in units & courses but can’t do so in accordance with the published assessment procedures. This may be because of a physical disability, sensory impairment, learning difficulty or temporary problem at the time of the assessment. Students with Dyspraxia can benefit from extra time (allowances can vary according to the individual candidate), rest periods (supervised with time not deducted from the exam), linguistic support (such as word processors in internal assessments), using a calculator & transcription. The latter can be made available after an external exam for candidates with poor handwriting skills & who lack proficiency in word processing.

Social life: It's natural for dyspraxic school-leavers who have gained entry to university to view this as an opportunity for forming new friendships, particularly after encountering the difficulties of school. However, the transformation into a more adult learning and social environment isn't always achieved in quite the way they'd wish. The years of ridicule and the defensiveness it engenders can hang heavy on them, and being "cool" and relaxed doesn't come naturally to them, Geoff Brookes in his Continuum-published work on dyspraxia reckons dyspraxic undergraduates often carry an air of "desperation" to form and hang onto friendships, clinging to those who take time to befriend them. This seems a tough but fair judgment. Social skills often take time to develop in a young Dyspraxic adult and the emotional scarring sustained in the schoolyard, gymnasium, art and technical drawing classes can take a long time to heal. Confidence can come with age as the sufferer comes to terms with the condition, maximising what they're good at and minimising their participation in activities that highlight their shortcomings in co-ordination. Sometimes just saying "No" to peer group pressure to participate in activities inappropriate to a dyspraxic's (lack of) skill set can require a degree of confidence beyond most young dyspraxics. Not going ice or roller-skating when all your friends or acquaintances are participating can be very isolating. However should you participate you run the risk of embarrassment, of making a fool of yourself, of being a laughing-stock.

Maturity can bring the confidence to pick and choose, even to explain your condition to your friends. Furthermore, the central nervous system itself can mature and certain skills can be learned the "long way round", leading to measurable improvements in motor-competency. 

Links

The Scottish Qualifications Authority

Can help with making positive adjustments for students with dyspraxia in exam & other situations

Scottish Disability Team

A major new development in the area of improving provision for disabled students Based in the the Division of Applied Computing at the University of Dundee and funded by the Scottish Funding Council.

Being Inclusive In The Creative Arts - Dyspraxia